Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) solutions enable companies to back up their data along with IT infrastructure in a third-party cloud computing environment. In the event of power outages, cyberattacks, equipment failures, human errors, natural disasters, or any form of disruption, this will allow companies to regain access to the backup data and mirrored IT infrastructure.
Since DRaaS solutions follow the as-a-service model, companies don't have to own all the disaster recovery (DR) resources or handle all the associated processes. Instead, they can rely on the provider. The third-party DRaaS provider reduces the burden of regularly backing up company data and is also helpful for organizations that lack the needed expertise to plan, configure, and test a DR plan.
DRaaS is also sometimes known as business continuity as a service (BCaaS). DRaaS solutions are a form of failover insurance for cloud computing environments and are crucial for business continuity. In the context of disaster recovery, failover is an operational mode that (automatically) shifts to a standby server, network, or database if the primary system fails or is shut down for some reason.
In the managed DRaaS model, third-party service providers are responsible for the failover process and transitioning the users from the primary environment to their hosted services.
Like infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and cloud platform as a service (PaaS), DRaaS solutions were made possible through the widespread adoption of cloud computing. These tools make the disaster recovery process more manageable by bringing all aspects into a SaaS product.
DRaaS tools reduce or eliminate downtime for customer-facing applications and internal networks and are critical for business continuity. They replace traditional backup software and hardware using the cloud and offer data protection and replication, better security, and faster recovery.
What Types of Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) Solutions Exist?
There are typically three types of DRaaS—self-service, assisted, and managed. Buyers should note that not all implementations of these solutions can meet all the requirements of an organization. Therefore, it’s essential to evaluate which variation of the software meets their needs fully.
Self-service DRaaS
As the name suggests, the self-service DRaaS model offers businesses tools and essential resources to perform its own disaster recovery planning and backups. Although this model provides greater flexibility, businesses are fully responsible for every aspect of DR strategy, testing, management, and executing the recovery process.
Although self-service DRaaS models are less expensive, the time and resources required to manage them may not make them the most cost effective solution. More precisely, self-service DRaaS is ideal for organizations with internal IT teams that have the required DR expertise.
Assisted DRaaS
In the assisted DRaaS model, the disaster recovery service provider acts as an adviser to the organization. The service provider typically handles the infrastructure and replication and offers advice on implementing, testing, and managing DR solutions.
When disruption occurs, the provider may also offer additional support for failover and failback operations. Generally speaking, assisted DRaaS doesn't provide a recovery service level agreement (SLA). That's because the organization is mainly responsible for executing the recovery procedures.
In the case of disaster recovery operations, SLAs are made up of recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs). RTO refers to the time frame within which a business process must be restored after a disaster to prevent unacceptable consequences. RPO refers to the amount of data that can be lost during a disaster without affecting a business process.
Companies can also utilize assisted DRaaS to identify weaknesses in their disaster recovery capabilities and avail the provider's specific services. When compared to the self-service model, this model is typically more expensive.
Managed DRaaS
In this model, the service provider is responsible for all aspects of the DRaaS strategy, including planning, testing, managing, and implementing. A managed DRaaS provider enables organizations and their IT teams to offload all DR concerns, as a third-party service provider is fully responsible for recovery.
When disaster strikes, the managed DRaaS provider will carry out the recovery process. These services offer a recovery SLA unique to a company's requirements. Managed DRaaS providers can also provide a platform-agnostic solution that provides failover for virtual or physical hardware, both within on-premises data centers and across multiple cloud service providers.
In short, managed DRaaS reduces the effort the IT team has to put in during disaster recovery to almost zero. As expected, managed DR solutions are typically the most expensive when compared to self-service or assisted DRaaS models. However, managed models are especially useful for small businesses that may lack the infrastructure and in-house expertise to plan and execute IT disaster recovery plans.
